The 2008 Darling Voorkamerfest (Front Room Festival)

The annual Voorkamerfest in Darling breaks all of its previous advance booking records

If the advance booking sales are anything to go by, audiences need to snap up their seats for the fifth annual Voorkamerfest (Front Room Festival), taking place in Darling from 5 to 7 September, 2008.

The Voorkamerfest event, which has already sold 50% of its tickets, is regarded by many as one of the foremost entertainment theatre festivals in South Africa, and it is proudly celebrating its Jubilee status this year.

It must surely be one of the most unique festivals in South Africa.

This September you will be entertained by both, the best in local entertainment as well as international artist in multiple languages and genres.

How it works - Visitors buy a ticket for a route – this year there are seven routes in total - and during this unforgettable journey between three different homes in Darling, three varied performances can be enjoyed.

It works with the element of surprise because the audience won’t know who they will see performing until they arrive at each voorkamer.

The owners of each house, which range from small township abodes to some of Darling’s grand Cape Dutch homes, play host to each audience with a truly South African cultural experience awaiting all.

There is an exciting mix of theatre genres catering to all tastes. The line-up includes performances from clarinets and acrobats to drama and opera.

This year, South African performers include musicians, Matthew Reid (clarinet) and Pieter van Zyl (piano); Nibs van der Spuy (guitar); Marc Uys (violin) and Wired Strings (string quartet).

Excerpts from Mike van Graan’s Bafana Republic Extra Time; the opera singer Pretty Yende accompanied by Darling’s well-known composer Hendrik Hofmeyr on piano; comedian Tshepo Mogale; and the amateur comedy-drama group from Darling known as the Darling iAfrica Drama Queens.

The UCT School of Dance's hip hop group and young magicians from the College of Magic will also present performances at the festival.

The line-up of overseas artists consists of the acrobatic Barefoot Company from the UK; Belgian singer Eva de Roovere; Katharina Vogel, the Butoh dancer from Switzerland and the Compagnie Meyer/Charraud, a Franco-Swiss modern dance ensemble accompanied by musician Surajit Das from India.

Performers from the Netherlands include world music ensemble Souldada, the poet Alfred Schaffer and the actress and singer Niki Romijn who will perform her production about Ingrid Jonker accompanied by Erik Robaard on guitar.

To add to the flavour of the Voorkamerfest, minibus taxis are used to transport everyone to their various destinations throughout the town.

This year, several visual artists in Darling will open their studios for visitors to meet them and view their art work.

Situated 55 minutes north of Cape Town, Darling is known for its gorgeous spring spectacle of wild flowers, wonderful wine estates, vibrant community and of course the legendary Evita se Perron that will form the hub of the festival.

Darling Voorkamerfest:

Date: 5 – 7 September 2008
Venue: Darling
Location: Darling | Western Cape
Price: R96 per route

R1 from every ticket will be donated to the Darling Trust.

For more information please contact +27(0)22 492 3427

Never been to Darling? Well we have very simple directions from Cape Town to Darling for you, so now you have no excuse not to join in on all the fun performances.

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